The present invention relates generally to the field of fuel cells and more specifically to fuel cells with polygonal cross-sections.
In a wide variety of applications, fuel cells are used to provide relatively cleaner and higher efficiency electrical power compared to fossil fuel burning electrical power plants.
Two design geometries have come to dominate the fuel cell field: the flat plate design and the circular tubular design (see, for example, Fuel Cell Handbook (Fifth Edition), Chapter 8, EG&G Services, available from National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, Va.). The flat plate design has an advantage of high power density but suffers a disadvantage of being difficult to seal against gas leakage. Conversely, the circular tubular design offers the benefit of a more reliable gas seal, but at the cost of a reduced power density. An opportunity exists, therefore, to design a new fuel cell geometry which will retain the gas sealing performance of the circular tubular design while approaching the power density of the flat plate design.